I really love Pixar - mostly because they make films for kids and grown-ups (mostly grown-ups who yearn to be kids again). They really do a great job of blending stories that appeal to children and still manage to bring depth for older viewers. I've decided to go with Unkrich as my first in-depth look at a Pixar director as I just attended the midnight screening of Toy Story 3.
1. Toy Story 2 (1999) AND 2. Toy Story 3 (2010) - "I think it's time you learned the true meaning of playtime."
I've really grown up with the Toy Story films. I was 9 when the first one came out, 13 when the second came out and I'm now 24 as the third film hits theaters. The way the films flawlessly blend the family, action-adventure, drama, comedy and coming-of-age genres makes them resonate whether you're watching them when you're 14 or 40. The introduction of Jessie in Toy Story 2 made me love the film even more - to have a female heroine join ranks with Woody and Buzz seemed pretty awesome to me. Toy Story 3 further develops the following of Andy and his toys without feeling overwrought or unnecessary. It tackles the whole idea of attempting to hold onto your childhood for as long as possible - the last third of the film contains perhaps some of the best moments in the series (no spoilers), and I'm not afraid to admit that a tear or two came to my eyes.
3. Finding Nemo (2003) - "Just keep swimming."
Finding Nemo, to me, combined the fairy tale aspects of talking animals with the heart of what I've previously described as Pixar's genre-crossing, for-all-audiences way of filmmaking. You root for the characters just as you would in a live-action film, even if it's filled with talking animals or talking toys. To me, that's the best aspect of Pixar films in general, they get you feeling compassion for and rooting for the lead characters just as if they were human beings. They bring humanity, in the form of emotions and mannerisms, to typical animated characters - animals, robots, toys, etc.
4. Monsters, Inc. (2001) - "And who will we be scaring today?"
Pixar even brought some humanity to the monsters hiding under the bed. They took the ordinary, somewhat mundane routines of human beings going to work and adapted them to the world of the monsters. Monsters, Inc. may not be my most favorite Pixar film, but that by no means makes it a horrible movie. It's not that I didn't like it - it's just I seemed to enjoy some of the other films more. The relationship that Sulley develops with Boo makes for quite a good movie.
The Other Men of Pixar's Lists: Brad Bird, John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton
As a bonus, I've made up my list of Pixar films, ranked (I only included the feature-length films):
1. Wall-E (2008)
2. Toy Story (1995)
3. Toy Story 2 (1999)
4. Up (2009)
5. The Incredibles (2004)
6. Toy Story 3 (2010)
7. Ratatouille (2007)
8. Finding Nemo (2003)
9. Monsters, Inc. (2001)
10. A Bug's Life (1998)
11. Cars (2006)
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